Japan's core private-sector machinery orders rose more than expected in May, pointing to solid corporate capital spending and bolstering the case for a Bank of Japan rate hike in August.

Core orders, which exclude those for ships and machinery at electric power firms, rose 5.9 percent from April, Cabinet Office data showed on Monday, beating a market consensus forecast for a 2.3 percent rise and following a 2.2 percent increase in April...

The Cabinet Office upgraded its assessment of orders, saying they are seesawing, compared with its view last month that orders were somewhat weak...

Separate data from the BOJ showed that Japanese banks' outstanding loans rose 0.7 percent in June from a year earlier, increasing for the 17th straight month.

But the pace of growth was the slowest since March 2006...

Separately, a survey of Japanese service sector workers...showed their economic sentiment index dipped...to 46.0, the lowest since February 2005 when it hit 45.6, as an increase in local taxes and recent rise in oil prices hurt consumer sentiment.